🏛️ Shapiro’s biggest tests are coming | Morning Newsletter

It’s Friday, Philly. Good news for the Eagles: Weather won’t be a player in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at the Linc. It might even feel balmy.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says he “got stuff done” in his first two years. With a budget shortfall on the horizon, his biggest challenges are to come.

And after 21 years as cohosts on WIP, Glen Macnow and Ray Didinger are enjoying their next chapter — in the theater.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

P.S. Friday means new games! Our latest news quiz includes questions on the late Bob Perkins, Delco: The Movie, and more. And Birdle, our twist on another popular word game, is back in honor of the Birds’ playoff run. Can you guess the Eagles-related word of the day?

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Shapiro spent much of the first half of his first term as Pennsylvania’s chief executive in the national spotlight, from a quick response to the I-95 collapse to nearly becoming a vice presidential candidate.

🏛️ The Abington-born Democrat also had a slew of legislative wins along with some stumbles, all while maintaining a strong approval rating in the swing state.

🏛️ But at the beginning of his third year in office, Shapiro is facing a political predicament: He is one of few governors with a GOP-controlled Senate and a narrow Democratic majority in the state House.

🏛️ The stakes are arguably higher this time as a budget deficit looms. Not only does another divided legislature mean a challenging path to passing a state budget, but he must navigate working with President Donald Trump’s new administration and (presumably) seeking reelection in 2026.

Politics reporter Gillian McGoldrick digs into why two years in, Shapiro’s biggest tests as a dealmaker are yet to come.

In other state news: State Sen. Art Haywood said Thursday he is “confident” that with the help of Shapiro and the legislature, Pennsylvania can maintain its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, despite Trump’s executive order targeting such programs at the federal level.

Plus: Trump’s order rejecting “gender ideology” contradicts Pennsylvania regulations for schools, which define gender identity as a protected class.

After working together for two decades, former sports talk partners Glen Macnow and Ray Didinger are supporting each other again, just in a different medium: show biz.

Didinger is a screenwriter whose Tommy and Me, a play detailing his relationship with former Eagles wide receiver Tommy McDonald, is currently on view at People’s Light. Macnow is a stage actor who performs in regional productions.

Their mutual pursuit of theater is coincidental. But it’s a welcome challenge for both.

Sports reporter Alex Coffey spoke to the longtime friends about their artistic turns — and whether they’d ever collaborate onstage.

Speaking of those Eagles: Kickoff is 3 p.m. Sunday. Check out our guides on where to watch the game in Philly, how to avoid day-of road closures, and — if you’re new here — how to become a Birds fan, according to obsessives on the internet.

Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.

This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer from 2023 on a Fairmount Park-adjacent road with what appears to be a misnomer. Monument Road has no monument now, but was it ever home to one?

Indeed, in the mid-19th century, an obelisk-shaped structure was located on a farm near Belmont Mansion — and its removal is tied to a supposed curse from disgruntled ghosts. Here’s the full explanation.

Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.

A “truly bad” painting by which American artist now hangs temporarily in the Philadelphia Museum of Art after years in storage? (Hint: The work is called The Crucifixion.)

A) Mary Cassatt

B) Frederic Remington

C) Cecilia Beaux

D) Thomas Eakins

Think you know? Check your answer.

🏈 Remembering: When Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb finally earned a trip to the Super Bowl.

🎭 Cheering: West Philly’s Colman Domingo, who picked up an Oscar nomination for Sing-Sing.

🗞️ Saying: Goodbye to The Inquirer’s long-running Clout column.

🎬 Wondering: Why Cape May went uncredited in A Complete Unknown.

Hint: Neighborhood in Philadelphia’s River Wards

RIPCORD MONTH

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Darcel Caldwell, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Fox Chase. The self-storage boom is coming to the Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood, though residents have pushed back on one proposed facility’s size.

📣 Wishing you a cozy weekend — until Sunday afternoon, when I hope our collective cheers lead to a win, then a raucous celebration on Broad Street. See you there.

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